A new study adds up the latest disturbing statistics on forests, making a mathematical case for their central role in achieving an inclusive, resilient and sustainable global economy.

Not only do forests combat the challenges posed by climate change and human susceptibility to disease, but they harbor biodiversity and generate income, while enhancing “green” food systems and value chains.

Estimates indicate that more than half of the world’s gross domestic product – $84.4 trillion in 2020 – depends on ecosystem services, including those provided by forests, according to the “State of the World’s Forests 2022”, launched on Monday by the UN for Food and Agriculture. (FAO) to coincide with the World Forestry Congress in Seoul.

“While this latest report comes as no surprise in terms of research, it details an action plan long promoted by CIFOR-ICRAF, providing a financial roadmap for policy makers and the private sector to follow” , said Robert Nasi, the Centre’s managing director. for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF).

“The important thing now is implementation. Despite many discussions, the goal still seems beyond our reach. We need to see these short-lived commitments become reality with specific guidance for governments and businesses.

Forests make up 31 percent of the earth’s surface, covering more than 4 billion hectares, but this is an area that is getting smaller and smaller as at least 420 million hectares have been deforested since 1990. And while deforestation – at least 90 percent of which is due to agricultural expansion – rates have fallen, 10 million hectares are cleared every year, says the report, which is published every two years by FAO based on the latest figures and agency research on global forest trends.

Halting deforestation is potentially one of the most cost-effective actions to mitigate climate change and prevent average global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times.

Ending deforestation, a commitment made in various non-binding UN agreements over the years, most recently at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, would be a cost-effective way to avoid greenhouse gas emissions greenhouse gases that warm the planet, including, as the report details, 14% of the amount needed until 2030 to stay below 1.5°C.

“Watching the sand flow through the hourglass as time passes is frightening,” Nasi said. “Climate change is here, and we have front row seats as it unfolds. We have argued elsewhere that the 1987 Montreal Protocol – the most successful environmental treaty, which banned the production of chlorofluorocarbons – should be used as a design template.

This agreement establishes a mandatory timetable for phasing out major ozone-depleting substances and provides financial support to countries in the South, he added. Although initial reactions were largely dismissive, companies quickly developed alternatives to harmful chemicals.

To stay within the 1.5°C range, as recommended by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and detailed in the Paris Agreement, human activities must become carbon neutral by 2050, an achievable target if direct emissions from lost biomass are avoided and the carbon-sorptive capacity of forests is maintained, the report says.

Funding flow

Total funding to halt deforestation, restore degraded lands and build sustainable value chains must triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2050 to achieve climate, biodiversity and land degradation neutrality targets, the estimated funding needed for the establishment and management of forests alone amounting to $203 billion per year by 2050, he adds.

If agricultural subsidies, which currently amount to nearly $540 billion a year, are restructured to include agroforestry and forestry, the harmful effects embodied in 86% of them could be avoided, the report says.

“We should not just focus on preserving primary forests, but restoring secondary forests and degraded lands into plantations for agroforestry and bioenergy wherever it makes environmental and financial sense,” Nasi said. “It is recognized that restoration and other natural options could contribute more than a third of the solution to the climate crisis.”

Smallholder farmers produce 80 percent of the world’s food, 35 percent of which is produced by landowners with less than 2 hectares of land. Smallholders, local communities and indigenous peoples own or manage at least 4.35 billion hectares of forest and agricultural land and are estimated to produce agricultural and forest products worth between 869 and 41 .29 trillion dollars a year.

Studies show that 91% of all indigenous and community lands are in good or moderate ecological condition, indicating great potential to cost-effectively reduce deforestation and improve forests, according to the report. More than 8.5 million producer organizations currently exist, helping to support a green recovery.

Yet less than 2% of global climate finance actually reaches smallholder farmers, indigenous peoples and local communities in developing countries. Therefore, mobilizing investments for smallholders, including to reduce perceived risks to investors, is a growing strategic approach.

“Despite the general pressure on forest-dependent indigenous peoples, local and low-income communities, we are not short of money,” Nasi said. “Governments are estimated to spend $1.8 trillion a year on military spending and more than $5 trillion on fossil fuel subsidies, but only about $50 billion on landscape restoration. It is time for society to rethink its priorities to enable a better future.

Circular bioeconomy

Companies in forest value chains will need to become key partners in developing circular economies, the report says, adding that many are already expanding the range of forest products as substitutes for higher greenhouse gas-emitting materials and increase the efficiency of the treatment. Local forest producers and processors can benefit more from strengthening links with buyers and developing capacities through producer organizations.

The report estimates that non-food bio-based industries will grow 3.3% per year through 2030, with projected production valued at $5 trillion. Forest bioproducts, including biochemicals, bioplastics and textiles, stand to benefit from this growth with potential environmental benefits. For example, every 1 kg of carbon from manufactured wood-based textiles replacing a non-wood textile could avoid carbon emissions by up to 2.8 kg of carbon, it says.

The report recommends greening domestic public finances, making climate finance work for forestry approaches, developing investment project pipelines and supporting investments in value-added wood processing in developing countries. ‘origin. Greening financial markets with regulatory and supervisory tools is also a key recommendation.

Mixed public-private financing models could help de-risk private sector investments that have significant public value but insufficiently attractive risk-return profiles. Green bonds are growing but, to date, only 3% are geared towards nature-based approaches, the report says.

“The most urgent task for a sustainable future and climate change mitigation is to reduce consumption and emissions, but it is also crucial to start using wood more efficiently for purposes where wood has a comparative advantage. from a sustainability and circular economy perspective,” Nasi said. .

Annual global consumption of all natural resources combined is expected to more than double, from 92 billion tonnes in 2017 to 190 billion tonnes in 2060, due to growing population and increasing wealth, the report says.

Companies involved in forest value chains must become partners in the development of circular bioeconomies, which replace forest products with materials with higher carbon footprints, such as cement and plastic, and increase processing efficiency, he adds.

Local forest producers and processors can gain more benefits by strengthening links with buyers and building capacity through producer organizations.

“We must not delay – we have no time to waste,” Nasi said. “Our task is clear, we need to move from a fossil fuel-based economy to a nature-based circular bioeconomy, and everything else can follow.”

(Visited 1 time, 1 visits today)